Digital cameras

[Dave G]

My companion thread to the cell phone is the one for a digital camera. I don't have one and I have never had one. I thought I could get a decent one for 100 dollars, but apparently one at that price doesn't have the best resolution.
Anybody know of any good camera deals? Compusa is going down the tubes, I might be able to get one if I knew what I was looking for...

[QuantaFille]

I've always used Nikons. The digital camera I have now, I bought in 1999. Nikon has changes their snapshot-type cameras a lot since then, and I don't like the new ones as much as I like mine. I would look for one that has a removeable lens cap, and not the plastic cover that automatically slides open when the camera is turned on. My Dad and two of my sisters bought some of the newer Nikons that have the sliding plastic thingies and have had problems with them. They get stuck sometimes, and it doesn't close itself to protect the lens when you go into playback mode anyway, which I think is a design flaw.

And, you aren't looking for a high resolution. You are looking for good picture quality. It's possible to end up with a camera with a high resolution that takes pictures worth squat. Likewise, you could get a camera that takes excellent photos but doesn't have a very high resolution.

Avoid the ones with digital zoom. It's not really zoom, it's just cropping the image and enlarging it, which reduces the quality. Look for optical zoom instead. This uses the actual lens to adjust the field of vision. If it has a combination, a wide range for optical zoom is best, just don't use the digital zoom.

My suggestion, is look on Amazon.com or other websites that sell cameras, and read the customer reviews.
What I do, is do a search and then sort the results by customer rating, and then go down the list until you find one at a decent price. Read all the reviews for it, and if it sounds good to you, figure out if it would be cheaper to buy it from the website or to buy it from a local store.

Hope this helps!
Q.

[DesertBerean]

I just got a Kodak EasyShare M853. I like it. Kodak just came out with a new model so you might get one cheaper now.

Whatever you decide, always opt for optical zoom over digital.

[Sparko]

if you want a pocket camera, the top three brands according to consumer reports is:

Sony
Canon
Fujitsu

They all have excellent picture quality and great low light function.

I would also look for one that has an optical viewfinder in addition to the LCD screen. Sometimes in bright sunlight you cant see the LCD screen very well, and you can also conserve battery life by using the optical viewfinder instead of the lcd. The optical viewfinders are getting harder to find though.

I am hoping to get an Canon Powershot 850 IS

Their is an 870 model but they took of the optical viewfinder.

I would have asked for a sony, but the sony's use those stupid memory sticks instead of SDcards and they are more expensive and harder to find a computer that can read them directly. You can always hook up through a USB cable though.

[SteveF]

Depends what you want from it really. I'm a pretty keen photographer, so I've got quite a good camera:

http://www.canon.co.uk/For_Home/Prod...400D/index.asp

This is an idea intermediary level model; for enthusiastic amateurs, but not quite professional. It's got everything I could I ever need and I'm really pleased with it so far.

However, at the cheaper end of the market, there are lots of good products out there, with good picture quality. $100 might be being a bit optimistic, but I'm not that familar with the market in the US. There's a cheap model that I've heard recommended but I can't remember what it is. I'll have to have a bit of a think and see if it comes to mind.

[$cirisme]

I pretty much just stick with Canon.

One nice thing that Canon does is use standard AA batteries. Some manufacturers use a proprietary battery. Standard AAs are better because they are cheap and everywhere, you can get rechargeables, and if you have a pocket full of batteries you never have to worry about whether or not you charged your camera recently.

When proprietary batteries cost $50 or more, and you're dependent on the company to continue making them, it makes better sense to get a camera with standard batteries. (and, besides, the rechargeable AAs last a very long time.)

[TheAnalogman]

Dave -
The Nikon L11 has gotten rave reviews and costs less than $100. It's very portable and compact. I went to Walmart and played around with one for awhile. It's very easy to select exposure, etc., or you could use it in full automatic. If I didn't already have a Canon elph, I'd snatch it in a New York minute. It uses 2 AA cells, btw.

A good review (and website):

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2007_reviews/l11.html

[Sparko]

I pretty much just stick with Canon.

One nice thing that Canon does is use standard AA batteries. Some manufacturers use a proprietary battery. Standard AAs are better because they are cheap and everywhere, you can get rechargeables, and if you have a pocket full of batteries you never have to worry about whether or not you charged your camera recently.

When proprietary batteries cost $50 or more, and you're dependent on the company to continue making them, it makes better sense to get a camera with standard batteries. (and, besides, the rechargeable AAs last a very long time.)

the smaller pocket canon cameras like the one I linked to do use the proprietary lithium-ion batteries. I am planning on gettting an extra battery or two.

the good news is that on the newer digital cameras the batteries tend to last much longer than they did just a few years ago. On my old camera I was lucky to have the durn thing last half a day of shooting intermittently (about 30 photos before it needed charging)

[Dave G]

Do all these come with some type of digital memory? Storage in the camera that downloads via usb, or memory stick, or something like that?

[$cirisme]

the smaller pocket canon cameras like the one I linked to do use the proprietary lithium-ion batteries. I am planning on gettting an extra battery or two.

Good point.

[TheAnalogman]

Do all these come with some type of digital memory? Storage in the camera that downloads via usb, or memory stick, or something like that?

It will prolly come with a small memory card. Usually download to a computer via USB.

[DesertBerean]

Do all these come with some type of digital memory? Storage in the camera that downloads via usb, or memory stick, or something like that?

I had to buy my SD card separately. Got one with a USB thingie.

[TheAnalogman]

For $130, I recommend this Canon:

Canon A560 I had the A520, and it was outstanding.

[$cirisme]

I have the A520 and it's great.

[Trout]

I love my Canon camera.